Alex Johnstone, NDP Candidate Who Made Auschwitz Remarks, Takes Leave From School Board

HAMILTON- A federal NDP candidate who apologized for making a crude reference to Auschwitz has temporarily stepped down from her role as vice-chairwoman of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

Alex Johnstone, who is running in the riding of Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas, reportedly said she didn't know Auschwitz was a Nazi death camp until last week, when controversial Facebook comments she made seven years ago resurfaced.

Her remarks were brought to light by the True North Times, a satirical online publication that found a Facebook post from April 2008 featuring a friend's photograph of part of an electrified fence and its curved, concrete supports at the death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.